RussianMilitaryChiefArrivesinNicaraguatoDevelopTies

Russia’s General Staff chief Col. Gen. Valery Gerasimov has arrived in Nicaragua for high-level talks with the Central American state’s leadership, the Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman said on Sunday.

MANAGUA, April 21 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s General Staff chief Col. Gen. Valery Gerasimov has arrived in Nicaragua for high-level talks with the Central American state’s leadership, the Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman said on Sunday.

During his three-day visit, Gerasimov is expected to meet with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Nicaragua's Army Commander in Chief, Gen. Julio Cesar Aviles Castillo. The talks will focus on “bilateral military and technical development,” the spokesman said.

Gerasimov will attend an opening ceremony of a training center for Nicaragua’s Ground Forces, which has been named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov.

“Military cooperation [between Russia and Nicaragua] is developing, and we will continue making efforts to develop it,” Gerasimov said.

In May last year, Russia’s drug control service launched anti-drug training courses in Nicaragua. The first participants of the courses were police agents from Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Honduras.

When asked if Russia’s Armed Forces will cooperate with Nicaragua in fighting against drug trafficking, he said, “I know that Nicaragua’s Armed Forces are taking part in this effort. And we will provide them with all the necessary assistance.”